SHALOM OLALEYE
With the official handing over of spectrum allocation for Fifth Generation (5G) deployment to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, stakeholders say Nigeria will lead in the global digital space.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, who also hats the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC) chairman, Prof. Isa Pantami, presented the official document on the 3.5GHz spectrum allocation to the Commission at a public event during the week.
Speaking at the event, the Minister commended the NCC leadership for a transparent, fair and credible 3.5GHz spectrum auction’ conducted on December 13, 2021.
“The NFMC is responsible for managing the allocation of commercial and non-commercial spectrum resources in the country while the NCC facilitates the deployment of spectrum in the country. The Council decided to allocate the assigned spectrum for 5G network to the NCC to enable it to assign same to the winners of the 3.5GHz spectrum auction.”
The fifth-generation spectrum allocation document was received by the Chairman, NCC Board of Commissioners, Prof. Adeolu Akande, and the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, on behalf of the Commission.
Akande, in his remarks, appreciated the NFMC chairman for his efforts in ensuring that every clog that could hinder successful deployment of 5G services are addressed,
“This paves the way for mutual understanding and trust among all stakeholders to ensure that the derivable benefits of the new technology are harnessed timely for the nation’s socio-economic development.
“The effective implementation of the National Policy on 5G, which the Commission is driving, will help in the actualization of the national targets in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2020-2030, as well as other sectoral policies designed to enhance Nigeria’s digital culture.” He said.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of NCC, Danbatta, while expressing appreciation to the Minister and all stakeholders for the role played in the emerging 5G network policy implementation initiatives, said
“The collective efforts of the private sector and government support will make deployment of 5G network transform every aspect of the nation’s economy.
I am optimistic that the expected transformation will be greater than the nation witnessed with the 1G, 2G, 3G and 4G.”